San Diego Judge Says Housing Element Law Doesn't Pre-Empt Local Initiative
- William Fulton
- Aug 30, 2021
- 2 min read
Ever since the 1980s, it’s been clear that a state law can pre-empt a local initiative. But in a “friendly lawsuit” from Encinitas, a San Diego County Superior Court judge has ruled that the state housing element law does not pre-empt a local government’s power to adopt its own housing element. As a result, the judge upheld the Encinitas’s initiative requiring voter approval of density increases – an initiative that has resulted in the city’s voters shooting down the housing element twice in the last five years.
